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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — completely
  4. bank — for money
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. row — a line
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. bank — of a river
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. scale — size or range
  13. vault — a safe
  14. fork — in a road
  15. row — to paddle
  16. spring — a coil
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. spring — the season
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. bank — for money
  23. spring — of water
  24. fork — to eat with

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com